WJAC Reporter Gary Sinderson On The Penn State Cover-Up: ‘Some In This Biz Are Lazy’

Gary Sinderson, a reporter at WJAC in Johnstown, PA, writes about reporting on the Penn State Scandal on TVNewsCheck. Sinderson, who is a Penn State alum, says he “began hearing whispers about Jerry Sandusky several years ago”:

Why couldn’t I report it? I didn’t have the time to get the needed verification to move the story ahead or to convince my bosses it’s not a rumor, but a real story. It’s just the nature of my particular job. I’m a one-man band, expected to crank out several stories a day. I may get a day or two to work on a large story, but not the time afforded to [Harrisburg Patriot-News reporter Sara] Ganim.

[…] Some in this biz are lazy, just repeating and reporting on what a few others have uncovered. We have a lot of commentators and not enough folks on the front lines finding the stories for everybody else to talk about. Corporate downsizing has cut those positions. Pushing the limits — informing the public and getting people to debate and discuss the issues, even when they include facts like the Sandusky case that they may not want to talk about — is a good thing. We need more of that kind of journalism.